For Such A Time As This
by Justene Martin
Copyright 2012 journeythrufaith.com Ministries/Justene Martin
Smashwords Edition
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All rights reserved.
Connect with Mary Justene Martin at http://www.journeythrufaith.com
Table Of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One: The Truth Shall Make You Free
You Were Born For This
Yes, We CAN Be Perfect
Spirit Of Lack
Your Inheritance
Chapter Two: The Transformation
Conformed to Transformed
Guide
It’s Now Or Never
Chapter Three: What Is Holding Us Back?
The Messenger
It’s A Matter Of Worthiness
God Is Taking Vengeance
Sweet Surrender—Poem
About The Author
“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
#####
Introduction
Never in all my years have I ever imagined the depths to which our culture has plunged. Let's just say these days are more evil than I imagined Sodom and Gomorrah to be. As a girl raised in rural, Midwest America, I was probably more sheltered than many. My generation laid claim to silly fads and nonsensical lyrics to songs, but I am sure there were things going on of which I was purposely unaware. Today however, the news is shoved down our throats time and time again. I believe it is a designed plan to harden our hearts to the depravity by making us hear it over and over. As the proverbial ostrich, I have heard enough, and I can no longer hide my head in the sand.
Little girls, (and boys) are being tortured and abused, used and murdered under our very noses, and we refuse to acknowledge it. Yes, we have been told it is happening in other lands but it is happening right here and now, in our schools, and even in our own back yards. The evidence is there, but few are willing to speak up.
For some time, I have been compelled to write a new book. The title was the only part I knew. I had no idea what this book would be about, I only knew it was scripture and that it came from one of my favorite bible stories, the Book of Esther.
As He has always done in the past, Holy Spirit began to add pieces to the puzzle and slowly the information and the story began to take shape. The book would be about women. Yes, those creatures that make up half of our population. Those who have been scorned, mocked, and given very little value except to Him who created them. It is not a book just for women to read, but also for men, so that they too will be aware of how the enemy has weakened the Army of God by eliminating half of its warriors.
Now I am not a feminist who thinks women should be men, and behave like the good ol' boys down at the bar, cussing and drinking and being crude. I am a woman, and I am a product of what religion, and society, has long chosen to keep limited and chained to a stereo-type made up by a cruel, mean-spirited form of religion. Even men who claim to have no religion have put us in our place as substandard human beings, made to be slaves and playthings for men, but never allowed to have a voice in the church. Notice, I said church, not the Kingdom of God.
It makes my blood boil when I hear pious, pulpit-pounding preachers, proclaim that women are to be silent in church. Yes, that makes my blood boil but the real reason for my writing this book is because it is time those pious jerks stood up and took notice of what is happening to their own little girls, their sisters, wives, and even their own mothers. It's time someone did something. Widows are being exploited, women are being silenced, and children and women are being raped, beaten and murdered by members of their own families, churches and schools. These so called leaders sit idly by and play computer games instead of protecting and defending their own women.
In the days of Esther, an edict was sent out over the land to destroy the whole nation of Hebrews. One man had the audacity to plan such a heinous crime against humanity, but one woman brought it to a screeching halt.
This book is not for the faint of heart, it is to sound an alarm to a generation of little girls and perhaps little boys who are called to bring change upon the earth. There are also grown women and men who will rise to the call. It is estimated that nearly half of all women have been abused (and probably the other half is too afraid to speak out). This means little girls as well. We can no longer wait for someone else to come riding in to save us. Jesus has done the work of redemption, the Father says, “Vengeance is Mine!” and Holy Spirit is here to guide us into ALL truth. All that remains is a people who will carry out His word. Those people are you. Yes, you little girl, and you young mother, and you grandmother and widow. You may have never wielded a weapon, but I believe you, and I, have been born for such a time as this.
#####
Chapter One: The Truth Shall Make You Free
You Were Born For This
Don’t envy evil people don’t even want to be around them. All they think about is causing a disturbance, all they talk about is making trouble. It takes wisdom to build a house and understanding to set it on a firm foundation. (Proverbs 24:1-2 Message)
Strategic planning is the key to warfare, to win you need a lot of good counsel. (Proverbs 24:6)
We must make war on the old mindsets, and foolish things we have brought about in our lives by consciously casting out that scorner. To do this we must stop and listen to what it is we have been saying, and start being around those who speak wisely. There are purposes and plans that God has for His people, and counselors who can confirm the word of God we are hearing. If all we ever hear is the mindless chatter of negative people, or the nagging issues of our past, we will not hear God clearly.
When we finally see that we have chased after other gods, by adopting thoughts and concepts that were not from the word of God, we must repent immediately, and return to our original purpose. We were born to live and carry out the Kingdom of God. We serve no other purpose than to carry out His will, but we have been taught in a world that is against this Kingdom. In this world self wants to rule. Self wants to dictate and constantly gives us instruction as to how things should be done.
“Has a nation changed gods when they were not gods? But My people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. (Jeremiah 2:11)
We finally reach the awful conclusion that self didn’t know what it was doing, and nothing up to this point has worked. Until we finally realize that our words and ideas are working against the very thing for which we were born, we will go on agreeing with these lesser gods, and miss the glory we were born to see. The longer we build up trust in a false system, the harder it is to eliminate the effects it has had on our lives. Only God can save us, but that is the exact reason Jesus came, to destroy the works of darkness.
Listen to what you are saying. Is it completely opposite to what you want your life to be? Then you are probably still unaware of the darkness that surrounds you. If you want your life to be a shining example, it is impossible to stay in darkness. The world tells us that stuff, money, success and fame are what we were born to achieve, however God tells us that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. He tells us to seek first this Kingdom, and all other stuff will be a side effect. You will never have peace and joy in the stuff until you have found your place in the Kingdom, living and dwelling with God and His people. It’s what you were born for.
Yes, We CAN Be Perfect
Whereas this One [Christ], after He had offered a single sacrifice for our sins [that shall avail] for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until His enemies should be made a stool beneath His feet. For by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy. (Hebrews 10:12-14 Amplified)
Probably one of our biggest hindrances to achieving our purpose is the fact that we do not believe we can ever be worthy, or perfect enough. Just about the time I think I am getting it, religion comes along and tells me, “Nobody's perfect.” but this scripture tells me that Jesus made us perfect forever, by a single sacrifice. Religion would have us believe we can never be delivered or perfected so that we keep coming back to gain absolution for sins. If this were true, why then did Jesus have to die?
When we come together in fellowship it should be to establish that Jesus did the work of salvation, once and for all time (forever). When religion comes together, it is to condemn us into believing we can never be perfect. Tell the truth, how many times have you heard in religious circles “Nobody's perfect.”? If they can make you feel imperfect enough, they can keep you coming back and filling their pews. But what if you came there every time just to reaffirm that you are already part of God and that you are already MADE perfect by Him (His Son)? And what if, when you finally understood the real scope of Jesus' sacrifice, you received the same power that He has to walk as the Son of God? The very thought sets your religious innards spinning doesn't it. Religion shrieks “Heretic! How dare you assume perfection you, heathen dog?”
The scripture above confirms that we are forever and completely cleansed and perfected, not by anything we accomplished, but because we were MADE perfect by HIS sacrifice. I urge you do not let religion steal this from you. Joshua 1:8 says. “This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.”
The only way you can keep this is to meditate on it day and night. Ask Holy Spirit to instill this into your spirit, because He is waiting for you to assume your position as one who is forever perfected for doing His Perfect work. There is but one way to prevent you from assuming this position, and that is through deception. If the enemy can get you to believe there is something you lack, you will never live out this perfection.
Spirit Of Lack
"Oh yes, Judgment Day is coming!"
These are the words of my Master God.
"I'll send a famine through the whole country.
It won't be food or water that's lacking, but my Word.
People will drift from one end of the country to the other, roam to the north, wander to the east.
They'll go anywhere, listen to anyone, hoping to hear God's Word—but they won't hear it. (Amos 8:11-12 Message)
In the same way that unworthiness and inadequacies hinder us, there is a spirit that prevails over our land, indeed over the whole earth. It is a nasty spirit that keeps people bound in their minds so that it can destroy their very lives. It is the spirit of lack. Everywhere we turn today, we hear people complaining or worrying about running out of resources, time, energy, patience, literally anything we can mention, people feel they have a lack of it.
The dictionary states that lack is the state of being without or not having enough. We are in the habit of feeling that we lack something, and that we must always be looking for ways to compensate, even when we have everything we need to exist.
I found myself complaining about the rising cost of gas prices yesterday, even though I have always had enough gas to get me where I needed to be. God is a God of abundance, not the withholder. We lack for no good thing. The bible tells us we have everything that pertains to life and Godliness. So what is it we lack?
This passage tells us exactly what it is. We are always looking for answers, but everything we need is in the Word of God. We look to the world to tell us the word of God, we bounce from church to job, from doctor, to teacher, always looking for answers, but they are right under our noses in God's word. We lack the truth, the true word of God, which has been provided to us liberally. We are simply too lazy to look for it ourselves, so we keep looking for what we already have, because this spirit of lack deceives us into believing our answers are not there.
This passage tells us they won't hear God, even after searching to find it. The problem is, we know what we believe, and we refuse to change that belief. Even when the word of God shows us clearly the thing we lack, we go right on believing we lack everything else.
Until we change our thinking and begin to see ourselves as forever perfect, we will go on thinking we are forever lacking. Jesus made us forever perfect, and with that same sacrifice He provided everything we need to be who He made us to be. So really, we lack nothing. We have everything we need to carry out the purpose we were born for. Unless you are willing to meditate on this book (the Bible) night and day, your chances of changing what you already believe to what is truth get smaller with each passing minute. For each moment you dwell in lack, you are losing precious opportunities to dwell in HIS abundance.
Your Inheritance
You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out the Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take." (Joshua 1:7-9 Message)
Moses was dead. God had promised him a land flowing with riches and abundance. What he was promised was a Kingdom where he would live in peace and abundance. Joshua, Moses’ assistant, was now in line to receive everything promised to Moses. If you will remember, God promised all this to Abraham also. This land (Kingdom) is the inheritance of all God’s people who are children of God according to their faith. With this promise comes the responsibility to carry out the provisions of the will. God has not promised just a small part of this inheritance, He has promised us the whole thing! Imagine it! Everything that belonged to Abraham and Moses is inherited by all His people. This means we have a great responsibility to find out what the provisions of this will are. Most certainly we must finally see that there is not and never was any lack from God's position.
Here God is giving charge to Joshua. This responsibility has been passed down through each generation because obviously no one has yet to receive His Kingdom, at least not the whole thing. What God is telling Joshua to do, He is also telling us. The problem is, no one has the faith that they will live to inherit what Jesus died to reclaim for us. Jesus did not only die to save us from our sin, He also died to reclaim for us the inheritance God planned for His own people. Religion has said we might receive this after we die and go to heaven if we are good and live moral lives. Jesus said "It is finished!" at the cross. We are already possessors of the Kingdom of God if we will but follow the provisions of His Word.
As heirs, we do not just receive a mansion in heaven, but we receive the whole world as joint heirs with Jesus. Most of us do not understand kingdom mentality. A kingdom is a community of people who are governed by the sovereign rule of a king. The king chooses whom he will, to lead his people and to see that they are provided for. The children of the king become heirs to his throne, and have full rights to everything in the kingdom. These children have authority to move about and partake of everything that their king rules.
As Americans we have not been taught to be subject to a king. We are taught that we can govern ourselves. This has always gotten people into trouble because they do not understand that the king has final say. In our government we elect our leaders and then we tell them what we want. The problem is, we all seem to want different things.
In the Kingdom of God we trust that God is wiser than we and knows what we have need of better than we do because He is the Creator and knows what He intended for us. This is why it is so important for us to meditate on this book of the revelation so that we will know what God has in mind. He tells us to be courageous, and to not get discouraged. We must be constantly aware of the possibility of getting discouraged when He is reminding us to be strong.
It is not enough to simply go to church and listen to another sermon. We are to be coming together with one purpose in mind, to carry out the conditions of the King so that we may inherit the earth. We simply have to change our thinking to what we must do now, and not what we will get when we die. Dead people do not get the inheritance. The inheritance is left for those who are alive and remain. So how do we move from lack to our inheritance? We must be transformed.
Chapter Two: The Transformation
Conformed to Transformed
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
Con - (adj) v. Conned, conning. Involving abuse of confidence, deceitfully manipulative, to swindle, persuade by deception. (Webster’s Dictionary)
Trans--a prefix denoting movement or conveyance from place to place. (Webster’s Dictionary)
In our church we have been learning about the power of all. The fact that as the body of Christ, we are no longer our own, but we are all one entity, with many parts. In thinking about this I began to meditate on this familiar scripture. We know we must renew our minds to be changed into the image of Christ, but this morning I realized that I have been trying to persuade my own mind that it must change. Unfortunately, it seems to be opposed to this, violently opposed. Consequently, it usually wins and I keep thinking the same old selfish thoughts that brought me to this place. I keep thinking that if I don’t change, I will be of no used to the body of Christ as a whole, so I seem always to be struggling to first change, and then become one with the rest of the changed ones.
In looking up these prefixes in the dictionary, I came across these variations of the words. I have come to the conclusion that we have all been conned into trying to be formed like the world. This scripture tells us not to be conned, but to be moved, or conveyed to the will of God. Aha! My old ways of trying to change was a con job. I was trying to change into something the world says is acceptable, when all the time, God has a good, acceptable and perfect way He wants me to move into. This makes a great deal of sense to me. The only way I can be moved into thinking God’s way is to keep asking Him and seeking Him, and moving with the rest of the body of Christ, so that I can finally see for certain what my part or function in this body is.
So many people who are part of the body of Christ are still searching for something the world has to offer, trying to fulfill a life they have been programmed to believe is their destiny, while at the same time, they cripple the entire body of Christ by not performing the function of their particular gift and call. We are all guilty of this misconduct, and most of us don’t even have a clue that we are hindering the Kingdom advancing as it should.
When we begin to listen, really listen, we will begin to hear certain commands that pertain to our own movement and calling. For instance, there is a particular man in our midst, who is obviously called to be a father. He is a magnet for children yet he himself has no children. This man stubbornly refuses to take his place in the body, and pursues his own selfish desires, while children in my own family are exploited and left desperately needing someone to father them. While I use my own time to pray and be concerned about my own family members, the widows and orphans I am called to minister, sit behind closed doors, growing older and dying in depression. A young man who is obviously armed with information and weapons that would keep other young people from being destroyed by the deception that destroys thousands of our young people, stubbornly sits on his hands and refuses to listen for his command from God, and instead listens to the call of the world. The problem with this is, he doesn’t even know what the call of the world wants from him either.
Our selfishness is destroying our destiny, but the saddest part is, those who so desperately need our help are waiting and groaning, while being eaten alive by a society and culture that don’t even care. Drugs and alcohol alone, snatch our people, God’s children, chews them up and spits them out by the millions, while those who are to make a difference, pursue their own greed and lust. Divorce consumes our people and abortion murders our babies while we stand on street corners passing out tracts. Debt steals our focus and robs us of our purpose. Preachers (who were perhaps called to be business men or mechanics) stand in pulpits and tickle the ears of pew warmers, (who were perhaps called to be ministers) exclaiming "Peace and safety. Everything is going to be okay, just bring your money and keep coming back." Widows (who were perhaps called to be prayers, or grannies, or even preachers or nurses) sit behind those closed doors, waiting to die, because I pursue my own selfish desire.
It’s time we stopped being conned and started being transformed (moved into action) by the command of God to "Wake up and take your place on the wall."
How long will you wait? And how many more will die or be consumed while you wait? You see the injustices, yet you wait for someone else to bring justice while you pursue your selfish desires. No wonder all of creation is groaning. It doesn’t appear that the body of Christ will ever become united, healthy and strong, fearless and ready to deliver them. But one thing is certain, He will have His army, and they will have no other God. Dead cells are sloughed off our natural body every day, to make way for the new life filled ones. So it will be in the body of Christ, if you are dead, you may be sloughed off, to make way for productive life filled ones who will answer their true call. Be Transformed! If you don’t know what your function is, stop listening to the world, or even preachers, and start listening for your God-call!
One last reminder, it is not I that lives, but I live as part of the body of Christ.
Guide
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26)
The world is looking for answers. We do not understand what is happening, as we see changes taking place over which we have no control. We run to people of knowledge, people of power and authority, but no one seems to know what to do. The problem is, there are as many answers as there are people, and no one really knows. There are those who think they know, based on their knowledge, or past experience, but only one source has been given the actual answers to life's question. The good news is you don't have to look any further then your own spirit, to find your guide.
Of course I am speaking about this scripture. Jesus made provision for us to know how to live and what to do when He was no longer walking upon the earth. When He went to be seated at the right hand of the Father, the Father sent this guide to teach us all things and to keep us on the path of Jesus teachings.
The church has all but blotted out our ability to receive this wonderful guide. But I believe since He lives within us that there is no man who can stop us from tapping into this wonderful source. Since the Father sent Him, it is between us and the Father to manifest this powerful truth in our lives. How do we receive it? We just ask. We ask in Jesus name, to be filled with this amazing power to understand the word of God and then to carry out God's purpose on the earth. Why else was He sent?
If this is true, and the bible says it is, then we must by-pass what man has told us and call upon this Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. The truth is within you, but you have no way of finding it until the Spirit leads you.
You know this is true, because the Spirit is confirming it in your spirit. Even if it is contrary to what you have been taught, you know that you must change and start listening to the voice that comes from deep within you, and not to the old ideas man has taught you your whole life. Yes, it will take work and effort to change these deep seated strongholds, but God is pouring out this Spirit upon all flesh. To yield to it, and to trust Him, that He is a good God, is to find all the wisdom and provision He has provided.
My friend and I concluded recently, that we must examine our own heart to find out what the real payoff is for not yielding. Is it because we are in fear, or do we just not really believe that God is on our side? Is it just easier to believe a lie? If we believe we are already smart enough to get us out of this mess, then it would seem we would stop trying to get out of it any other way. If we really believe there is a better way than we know, we must start immediately to call upon the real authority for our guidance.
Holy Spirit, come be our guide!
It's Now Or Never
And you will make a new start, listening obediently to God, keeping all his commandments that I'm commanding you today. God, your God, will outdo himself in making things go well for you: you'll have babies, get calves, grow crops, and enjoy an all-around good life. Yes, God will start enjoying you again, making things go well for you just as he enjoyed doing it for your ancestors,
but only if you listen obediently to God, your God, and keep the commandments and regulations written in this Book of Revelation. Nothing halfhearted here; you must return to God, your God, totally, heart and soul, holding nothing back.
This commandment that I'm commanding you today isn't too much for you, it's not out of your reach. It's not on a high mountain—you don't have to get mountaineers to climb the peak and bring it down to your level and explain it before you can live it. And it's not across the ocean—you don't have to send sailors out to get it, bring it back, and then explain it before you can live it. No. The word is right here and now—as near as the tongue in your mouth, as near as the heart in your chest. Just do it! (Deuteronomy 30: 8-14 Message)
Here it is in black and white, written in the Old Testament but just as relevant today. God WANTS his people to come back to Him. So why are we living such unfulfilled lives? Because somehow we have been duped into believing this will all take place in the future, somewhere out there. We spend our whole lives "Getting ready".
I am telling you, until you get the revelation that God's word is NOW, you will never BE your destiny. Destiny is not a destination it is a process of BEING. God says I AM. God says His Spirit dwells in me, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, therefore I AM.
I AM all that God created me to be. If He has revealed to me that I AM a prophet, a teacher, a deliverer, a writer, a singer, a worshiper, a preacher, and on and on, then that is what I AM right now. And so are YOU.
We have waited our whole lives to become what God has called us to be, but we wait in vain, because we already are the finished work of Jesus. All that is left for us to do is walk according to HIS purpose right now. We already ARE righteous, free, prosperous, delivered, forgiven, healed. It is a packaged deal. You either ARE, or you will never BE.
The second you receive this reality, you are changed into another creature. You are born again into the Kingdom of God. But if your brain tells you that you will be someday, then you will never be, because we all know that someday never comes. If you are a bible scholar, study. If you are a singer, sing, if you are an evangelist, just do it! It really is now or never. What more does it take to become what you already ARE? Be diligent to do all that you are to do. But don't put it off, do it now! The whole world is waiting. They need someone to tell them they are whom they are waiting for. Tell them. I just told you.
Chapter Three: What Is Holding Us Back?
The Messenger
"[God Is Love] My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God." (1 John 4:9 Message)
If we hold fast to the beliefs that we have been raised with, that are based on fear, we will always be afraid of God. We simply cannot have a loving relationship with someone we fear. My only purpose in life is to find out what God is really like and bring that message to the world. Until we can establish who and what God is, we can never advance or gain access to the promises we may obtain as children of God. If it feels that I sometimes repeat myself again and again, it is because until we can get this one message, that God is love, and not fearful, we can never enter into His Kingdom.
Each time I find myself feeling guilty, ashamed, or fearful, I must go back and re-examine who He says He is. And each time I review this, I know I must bring the message around again. Our old beliefs are powerful and deeply embedded in our minds. However, we are not our minds, we simply have a mind. In the same way, we are not our body we simply live in a body. Until our body and mind can get aligned with what our spirit knows already, we will always be pulled from faith in God, to fear of Him.
As children we are taught fear. We are born equipped with everything it takes to believe in God, and to love, because we are part of God. However, our upbringing is guided by the fear of our parents and those around us who want to keep us safe. Even if we are not told God is fearful, we sense it from those around us, and we begin to fear Him. Most of us have never known that we must change our deepest beliefs when we come to God, because without love, it is impossible to regain our position as a Son or daughter of God. Our earliest memories are from fear, but before this we knew LOVE.
Even the world tells us that our deepest need is love. So if this is our deepest need, we must set out to find what it means to be loved and to love, or we will never be fulfilled.
I now understand that my purpose in life is to BE loved, to Love, and to spread the word, be His messenger. There is no higher calling to which I may aspire. So I say it again, "God IS Love, and you ARE loved." There is nothing that can separate you from this love. Jesus came to restore you to LOVE.
It's A Matter Of Worthiness
"When We Practice Real Love"
My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves." (1 John 3:18 Message)
When it comes right down to it, this is the question most of us fear. "Am I worthy?" As I have said before, religion must keep us guilty and ashamed to keep us coming back to fill their pews, so we are constantly being made aware of our past sins. But what is the truth? Am I worthy? The answer is "NO!" of course not. For all have sinned, but the truth is we have been MADE worthy by the sacrifice of Jesus, so once and for all time, we are now WORTHY! How do I know? This passage tells me to practice real love, the God kind of love, and that God is greater than my worried heart and knows more about me than I know about myself.
He not only knows my heart, but he also knows His own heart, and the heart of His Son, and the heart of Holy Spirit, and they all testify that through love I am worthy, and so are you. The problem is, this is not what you believe. You have been made to believe that we will never be worthy. But God is greater than your beliefs and wants you to change those beliefs.
If you forever hold fast to these old beliefs of guilt and shame, you will never believe you can be "forever, and completely perfect". These two thoughts cannot coexist. So which will it be? Are you guilty because your religion (and your own heart) condemns you, or are you made perfect by the precious blood of Jesus, who is greater than your belief?
I know it seems I beleaguer this thought but we must not be getting it, or Holy Spirit would not be trying to pound it into our minds. God is greater than our minds by the way, and of course that is where our beliefs are buried, deep within our mind. Holy Spirit is excavating these old death oriented beliefs so that He can insert the truth that through the love of God, Jesus made us worthy, once and for all time.
So rather than just pass this message off as something you have heard before, take it to heart. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing, and hearing, and....
God Is Taking Vengeance
He has made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand he has concealed me, and he has also made me a select arrow. He has hidden me in His quiver. (Isaiah 49:2)
Why are you here? What good has your life brought? These are questions we all ask ourselves, seeing we haven’t gained worldly goods, or counted among the great, what our culture deems great. But God is about to break forth. He will not tolerate a culture of Godlessness. He will no longer hide those "arrows" He has been saving to execute His vengeance.
It is obvious that we have been duped into believing that our lives are really for nothing but to live and die. But what if you had never been taught about death, and what if you lived your life as if it could go on forever. What if you had never picked up this fear of dying? Then what if someone came and tried to take that life away from you? Would you fight to preserve a life of harmony and peace? I Hope so, because this is what you were born for. But this fight will be different. It will not be waged with weapons, but with praise and worship. You see, When God takes vengeance, He defeats the enemy with what he hates the most, the praise and worship of someone other than himself. This is why God has commanded us to praise Him. Not because He is conceited or vain, but because it runs the devil out of town.
There are people who have seen the mockery of God, brought forth even in places where He is supposed to be King. In churches who no longer wish to speak about the blood, those who run their organizations as great corporations, duping the hungry people into believing there is salvation, when all along they seek to gain. These people see the shambles of a nation that is slowly moving away from godly precepts and into a tyranny of apathy.
God is not taken by surprise. He has formed a people and hidden them since before they were born, in His quiver. He has been speaking to people for centuries to get ready to take His Kingdom back. He will destroy these great shrines to the enemy by the words he has put within these warriors. He has spoken it and it will happen.
You’ve seen the injustice you’ve shaken your head in sorrow, thinking there is no help for those who are oppressed, masses of human suffering before our very eyes, in the cities, on the media, in countries all around the world. Could it be that God has been preparing you for a different kind of revolution, a revolution of words, and not of guns and missiles? The enemy doesn’t know how to fight the sounds of praise. He trembles at the sound of God’s people who are turning on him with his own weapons. The enemy has used his words to defeat us for centuries, accusing and mocking the very ones who will be his destroyers. A people who will no longer give their tribute to him through complaining and slander, but who will praise his own enemy, Almighty God.
Prepare for war. It’s a war of praise. Read Isaiah 49, and see how God intends to defeat His enemy the devil. Begin to sing a new song of praise. Your time has come!
I realize these concepts may be new to you. The old ways have not worked. Think about Noah's day. God was preparing to do something totally unheard of before, something that had never been done before. Noah was going on faith that God had actually told him to build this huge boat and he staked his entire life on that faith. Working for 120 years while probably being persecuted and mocked by everyone around him. Noah was born for such a time as that.
Think about Esther. She was going on faith that she could persuade the king to stop the execution of her entire race of people. She staked her entire life on that faith. Esther was born for such a time as that.
We simply must leave our old doctrines and traditions behind when God calls us to do something new. We have been asked to form an army that will defeat the enemy. This war will be fought in such a way as has never been seen before. Yes, God is taking vengeance, but not with the shedding of blood as all other wars have been fought. This one will be fought by Disciples of Christ with Jesus as the Captain of the Host. We will run the devil off our territory so that God's Kingdom will reign on earth as it does in heaven. Jesus prayed that very thing. The word of God has spoken and He will bring it to pass. The question is, will you be one of the ranks. Will you by faith follow the true God, or will you follow what you have been taught? No matter what your decision, God will have His people and He will be their God, with you or without you. God is taking vengeance on the enemy, will you go with Him or not? The choice is yours.
I believe if you have kept reading this far, you too were born for Such a Time as This.
*****
Sweet Surrender
I surrender Father,
For the world has failed me sore.
I have tasted freedom,
And my hungry heart cries “More!”
Nothing has fulfilled me,
My broken heart can't bear
The thought of going back
As your Kingdom's drawing near.
I have known the ecstasy
Like the sweetness of a kiss,
And now I know that I was born,
“For Such a Time as This.”
*****
#####
About The Author
Justene Martin resides in Iowa. She attends church at the biggest little dynamite church on the planet; Revelation Light of Jesus Christ, in Bedford, IA. Justene considers herself a gifted poet because she knows that what she has is a gift from God. She calls her work, Poetry With A Purpose. In her so-called golden years, she has found herself looking forward to life with purpose and a zeal she never dreamed possible.
Mother of six children, grandmother of 15, and widowed after 38 years of marriage, she has discovered that God has a grand plan for all of His creation, NO matter what age or gender. Believing she has been called to bring the gospel to widows all over the world, she finds herself willing to go to any measure to follow that call. Armed with her pen, her mouth and a dream, she embarks on the journey with fear and trembling, but with the promise of eternal purpose.
#####
Discover other titles by Justene Martin at Smashwords.com:
It's Time
Slaying The Dragon
Dancing With The King
Connect with Me Online:
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Justene-Martin/436557146389682
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JusteneMartin